Cardiovascular diseases, specifically coronary heart disease and stroke, are the major cause of death in the United States. An individual's susceptibility to those diseases can probably be lowered substantially by reasonable changes in the risk factors of habitual diet, cigarette smoking, exercise and hypertension treatment. Many individuals, when exposed to knowledge about risk factors in cardiovascular disease, fail to make the self-helping changes. Our reason for that failure to make appropriate changes may be the lack of public understanding of the basic concept to risk or probability regarding personal health decision-making. This is seen as one crucial problem in the utilization of scientific-health information by the public and the effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Several approaches to the dissemination of information will be intensively tested in a community setting. First, a media campaign will be developed to educate a community wide audience on cardiovascular risk concepts. Subsequently opinion leaders will be identified and motivated by small group seminars which will provide information. This novel approach, utilizing communications theory, may provide a new and effective tool for the dissemination of health information.